'Rope' Actor Farley Granger Has Passed Away

March 30, 2011 (2:01 am) GMT

The veteran actor, who is best known for his collaborations with legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, died at the age of 85 last Monday, March 28 in New York.

Hollywood veteran Farley Granger has died at the age of 85. The actor, best known for his collaborations with legendary moviemaker Alfred Hitchcock, passed away on Monday, March 28 in New York. His death has been attributed to natural causes, according to E! Online.

Granger started his career in a theater in his native California, where he was discovered by Hollywood heavyweight Samuel Goldwyn and handed a studio contract, which led to roles in "The North Star" (1943) and "The Purple Heart" (1944). He stepped away from Hollywood when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy but later returned to the movie business after serving in Hawaii and he went on to win a role in Hitchcock's classic 1948 thriller "Rope", with James Stewart.

Granger later re-teamed with the director for arguably his most famous film role in 1951's "Strangers on a Train". He went on to make films including "Senso", "The Naked Street" and "The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing", and appeared on TV shows and in theater.

He opened up about his Hollywood career and his personal life in his 2008 memoir "Include Me Out: My Life From Goldwyn to Broadway", revealing his relationships with men and women, including Ava Gardner, Shelly Winters, composer Leonard Bernstein and famed playwright Arthur Laurents, who wrote the screenplay for Hitchcock's "Rope".

Granger's long term partner, soap opera producer Robert Calhoun, died in 2008.